When I think about my childhood I remember the beautiful pink and sparkly phone case my Mom had on her smart phone that I stared at when I talked to her....

Oh wait, that wasn't my childhood...was that yours? Is it your child's?

One major difference between our childhood memories and our child's? Having to push buttons on a phone that never left the wall attached to a cord or carrying around a huge chunk of plastic with a large antenna....and getting out a tiny device out of our pocket that never leaves our side...

The explosion of the internet and smart phones has drastically changed how our children act, think, play, relate to each other and evolve..

Technology is an amazing thing connecting so many people, thus you finding me! But the major problem that researchers are finding out is that it has become an addiction, one that we would like to think we are in control of but, sadly, we are not.

Children need to understand how to use technology but they also need to understand they matter.

When I think of my childhood I remember looking into my Mom's eyes when I talked, knowing I was important and what I was saying mattered...

Too many times I have found myself talking to my kids without being present with them in their space and with their thoughts.

Each day lets remove ourselves from the pull of social media, the overstuffed calendars, the over commitments of extra curriculars and overextending ourselves to things that are not important to us.

Removing ourselves slowly from technology over consumption is very difficult but can be done and is so important.

Remember, I am not saying technology is bad, that you should not enjoy it and you cannot use it...it is great when scheduled properly and taken seriously. Having a family "tech time" scheduled will allow you to relax because you know your time is coming and your kids can enjoy it as well and look forward to it. With scheduled times you won't have them asking you all day if they can play with their tablets or watch a show...they will know.

Good luck on this path, it's a hard one but such a rewarding one.

Comment down below with how you plan to be intentional with technology and any success you are having!

Remember, the most important people you need information from, connection with and attention to is right in front of you, the texts, IM's, DM's etc. can all wait until you are good and ready to respond.